Firestorm
by CharlieSwagron
Summary: Basically a what-if story of if Castle was trapped in the burning building with Ryan and Esposito. Obviously a slightly different version of 6x11 "Under Fire"
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the plots, lines, or characters**

**A/N: So this is my spin on episode 11 "Under Fire." It's a what-if story about Castle being trapped with Ryan and Esposito. Due to this obviously I had to change some things around to make it work in the plot and there will be another chapter after this one. I hope you enjoy it!**

Her heart stopped almost as fast as her car did when she slammed on the brakes to bring it to a halt. The entire building in front of her was destroyed. Flames shot out of every broken window, crevice, and crack. Smoke billowed out in giant, black plumes that were racing upward toward the starless nighttime sky. Debris was covering what remained of the broken sidewalk. Dozens of firemen and rescue workers were bustling about, hurrying to and fro. Several hoses were attempting to douse the flames, but with little success.

Beckett slowly stepped out her car, her alert eyes taking in everything at once. Her throat was immediately filled with a combination of smoke and soot when she inhaled; causing her already dry mouth to feel like it was full of cotton. Her hazel eyes began to sting and water from the fumes. Slamming her car door shut, she located the fire chief and raced over to him.

"Chief." As the man turned to acknowledge the voice that had called him, she said, "I'm Detective Kate Beckett from the 12th Precinct."

"Chief Miller," he introduced himself. "What can I do for you, Detective? Make it quick; in case you hadn't noticed, I've got a working fire in progress that I need to get back to."

"Chief, I've got three men that building," she told him. At his look of disbelief, she nodded her head to reaffirm what she'd just announced.

"Stay right here," he instructed, and then ran off, yelling out orders to his team.

Not bothering to watch him leave, Beckett pulled out her phone and attempted to call Castle for about the eighth time in the last 15 minutes. When that failed, she dialed Esposito, and then Ryan when her second call didn't get through.

"C'mon, c'mon," she whispered softly. "One of you pick up your damn phone!" Ryan's call went straight to voicemail. The frustrated detective hung up and silently cursed to herself.

Chief Miller came back and asked, "Detective, are you sure they're inside?"

"Yeah, they were checking the building in connection with an arson-homicide and they haven't called in yet," she instantly responded. "You need to alert your rescue teams."

"Detective, the building's fully involved. I just had to pull out the interior attack teams." He pointed towards the fire. "I can't send in a rescue company until it's more contained."

"Wait, more contained?" she asked incredulously. "If my guys are in there, I need you to bring them out."

"If we could get in there, I would. But there's been a partial collapse inside and I almost lost six of my guys. We'll do everything we can, Detective, but the building's a firestorm—every floor." With regret in his eyes, the man said, "If your guys are in there, I'm sorry, but they're probably already gone."

Her breath caught in her throat. Chief Miller was walking away when she called, "Chief!" He turned around and she asked, "The fire—what started it?"

"Shattered windows and structural damage indicate some kind of explosion." And with that, he left Beckett to stand amidst the chaos alone.

Beckett stared at the man's retreating form for a moment and then glanced at the blazing building. _I'll get you out of there,_ she thought to herself. _I know you're all alive so hang on. Just hang on, guys._

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Castle groaned as he opened his eyes. It felt like he had fallen onto a bed of hot rocks that were cooking him alive. He could barely breathe and had difficulty moving. His back hurt like hell and his knee was killing him. Lifting his head up, he spotted two still forms a few feet away from him. Remembering what had happened, he pulled himself into a sitting position and moved over to the one closest to him: Esposito.

"Esposito," he said as he shook his friend awake. The younger man grunted and sat up.

He surveyed the scene and quickly sprang to his feet, rushing over to where Ryan lay motionless, his legs pinned under a concrete pillar. "Ryan! Ryan!" the Latino called worriedly. The smaller detective finally came around.

"I can't move, bro, my legs are stuck," he announced.

"Here." Esposito grabbed a hold of one end of the pillar. "Castle, come help me!" he ordered.

The writer got to his feet and limped over to the other two men. Bending down, he placed his fingers underneath the concrete, ready to lift.

"One the count of three," Esposito instructed. "One…two…three!" With twin grunts, the two heaved with all of their combined strength. Unfortunately, the concrete hardly even budged the slightest.

"Wait, wait," Castle said. "We need leverage—something that'll act as a lever and fulcrum."

The Hispanic detective spotted an iron bar and a hunk of metal lying on the ground. He moved the metal closer to where they needed it and said, "Castle, get behind Ryan. When I say so, I want you to pull him back and get his legs free."

For once in his life, Castle didn't argue or say anything back to him, but did as he was told. He looped his arms under Ryan's shoulders, prepared to yank him out from beneath the concrete, and watched as Esposito jammed one end of the iron bar under the piece of confinement.

"Ready?" he asked, glancing at his two friends. When they nodded, the man took a deep breath and pushed his entire body weight down on the bar. With the added help of the chunk of metal, he was able to lift the pillar up just enough so that Ryan would be able to move out of the way. "Now, Castle, go!" he roared.

Said man, hauled the trapped detective out from under the concrete. As soon as it was clear, Esposito released the bar, letting the pillar fall to the ground. Gasping for air, he asked, "You alright, bro?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Can you walk?" Castle inquired.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "Help me up and we'll find out."

The taller man pulled the Irish man to his feet. After testing the waters, Ryan concluded, "Yeah, I can walk. I just gotta be careful."

A loud crash from above cause all three heads to look up in alarm. All they could see was a large gaping hole and fire blazing everywhere.

"How far do you think we fell?" Castle asked.

Esposito shrugged. "Don't know. At least two stories. Looks like we're in some sub-basement. We're lucky we're not as injured as we could have been."

"Yeah, well if we don't get outta here soon, we're gonna be worse than injured, Javi," Ryan replied. The smaller man's blue eyes darted around every corner of the room they were currently in, not finding any obvious escape routes. "How the hell are we gonna get out of here?"

The other two men stared worriedly at him. Neither of them had an answer.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

It was taking all of Beckett's willpower to not go rushing into the burning building and look for her team. She hated feeling helpless and this was the ultimate time for such a feeling. All she could do was stand back and impatiently wait for news from the fire chief.

Standing back with her hands in her pockets, she stared at the fire as if she could magically put it out with her mind. Thoughts of Esposito and Ryan floated in and out of her head, but the one person constantly there was Castle. It was her fault that he was trapped in there with the other two. He had wanted to go along with them and she'd idiotically agreed. And now…now he was as good as dead.

She felt wetness on her cheeks and realized that she was crying. Her fiancé was stuck in a burning building and there was nothing she could do about it. She wasn't even entirely sure that they were all still alive.

A loud crash brought her out of her self-pity. The chief was shouting for everyone to move back as well. "What's going on?" she asked him.

"This building's gone; we have to move through defensive attack. The other structures are in danger," he told her.

"So you're just giving up?" The disbelief in her voice was evident.

A guy standing next to the chief in some rich-looking suit babbled on about saving the other buildings on the street, but all Beckett could think of was her boys and how they were still in the collapsing building. A voice calling her name caught her attention.

"Kate?"

Beckett turned around and saw Lanie standing there with a scared look on her face. Stunned, the detective could only stand there and stare at her best friend. She didn't know how to tell her that their guys were in the building.

"Kate, what's going on? Where's Javi?" she demanded to know.

"Look, Lanie—"

"No, Kate. Tell me." The stubbornness shone brightly in the shorter woman's eyes.

Beckett sighed then walked over to her friend. She grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "Castle, Espo, and Ryan were in the building when it caught on fire. It exploded actually." Beckett heard the hitch in Lanie's breath, but continued. "We don't know where they are in there or even if they're still alive, but the fire department can't go in to get them. The structure's too weak and could collapse at any moment."

When she finished, she could see tears rolling down Lanie's cheeks. Beckett had a few of her own to match her friend's.

"And how are you holding up?" Lanie asked her.

"Me?"

The darker-skinned woman rolled her eyes. "Yes, you. Your fiancé's in that building along with two of your best friends. Don't even try to tell me you're okay."

Beckett sighed. "It's my fault, Lanie. I-I shouldn't have let them go in there. I shouldn't have—"

"Kate Beckett, this is _not_ your fault," Lanie reprimanded her. "You aren't the one who set the fire. There's no way you could've known that the arsonist would pick this place."

Just then, Beckett's cell phone rang and she pulled it out of her jacket pocket. Checking the ID, she saw that it was the one person that she didn't want to have to talk to right now: Jenny.

Beckett glanced at Lanie who'd seen the ID and said, "Maybe she's heard from them. Maybe they're actually alright." Lanie looked skeptical.

The detective answered the phone. "Jenny?"

"Kate," she heard a sigh of relief. "Thank God. Um, h-have you heard from Kevin?"

She swallowed down a lump in her throat. "No, I haven't. Have you?"

"No, I've been calling him to test our system, but he's not answering. I'm freaking out a little bit," the other woman admitted. "Do you have any idea where he is?"

Beckett locked eyes with Lanie, deciding whether or not to tell Ryan's wife the truth.

Her long pause must have alarmed Jenny because she heard her say, "Kate? Kate, are you there?"

She looked back at the fire before responding. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here."

The worry in Jenny's voice could clearly be detected as she said, "What's going on? Where's Kevin?"

Reaching a decision, Beckett said, "Jenny, I need you stay calm, okay? Something's happened."

"What is it? What's wrong?" the pregnant woman asked.

"We've been investigating a murder that happened due to a serial arsonist," she began. "Castle, Ryan, and Esposito were checking out a building that had caught our attention and…and it exploded with them still in it."

"Oh my God," Jenny gasped. "Are-are they alright? Is Kevin alright?"

Beckett took a deep breath. "We don't know. They're both still inside and the building is still on fire. There's no reason to panic, though, Jenny. We're gonna get them out."

The detective's trained senses picked up the sound of muffled crying on the other end of the phone. "Jenny?"

"I-I'm fine, Kate," the blonde replied. "I just-I have to go. Thank you for telling me."

"We're doing everything we can right now."

"I know you are. Goodbye, Kate."

"Goodbye, Jenny." The brunette hung up the phone.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

The three men were standing among the rubble, frantically searching for a way out. Finally, Esposito located something.

"Look." He pointed at a grate on the ceiling by one of the walls. To reach it, though, they would have to clear tons of debris and that just wasn't possible with their limited strength and time. "Looks like that was our way out."

Ryan and Castle stared at their only escape route before the latter commented, "Yeah, I don't think we want to go up anyway." They could see the flames peeking through the metal bars of the grate.

The Hispanic detective pulled out his phone only to find it smashed beyond use. "My phone's busted from the fall."

Ryan took his out and saw that he had no service. It really didn't surprise him in the least. Being this far down in the building; it would take a miracle to get any kind of service at all. Castle searched for his phone, but he couldn't find it.

"Guys, I can't find mine. It must've fallen out of my pocket when we fell."

"Well, as big as this thing is," Esposito told them, "the fire department's gotta be out there. They gotta be out here soon."

Ryan looked up. "We should let them know that we're down here." As soon as he said that, Esposito started yelling, trying in vain to grab anybody's attention if they were around. Castle and Ryan soon joined in, but to no avail.

"The fire's too loud," Castle observed. "No one could hear us scream over it." He was panting and coughing, his lungs not getting the oxygen they required.

Esposito glanced around at the ground and eventually spotted what he was looking for. "I got an idea." He picked up a metal rod and whacked a giant metal pipe. "Maybe the sound will carry up. Maybe they'll hear us then."

The other two men quickly followed their friend's example. The metal on metal clang made their ears ring, but they wouldn't stop—they couldn't stop. Adding their shouts to the noise, all the three could hope for was that someone from the fire department would hear them so that they could be freed.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Lanie led Jenny to the ambulance as Beckett stared after them. Jenny's words kept ringing in her ears.

_ "Jenny, you should be here," she'd told her._

_ "The hell I shouldn't. That's my husband in there," the other woman had retorted. Just then, another contraction hit here like a sledgehammer. She nearly doubled over from the pain._

_ "What's going on?" the detective had asked, worry written on her face._

_ "She's in labor, Kate," the medical examiner had informed her._

_ "Jenny, you shouldn't be here. You need to go to the hospital," Beckett insisted._

_ Jenny had recovered from the pain and replied, "No, I won't leave. Not without Kevin."_

_ "Jenny, you—"_

_ The blonde interrupted her. "Kate, Rick is in there too. Would you leave him?"_

_ Beckett's silence was her answer. Of course she wouldn't leave him._

_ Thank God, Lanie had more sense than either of the other two women. "Okay, at least let me get you in an ambulance. You need to lie down so that we can make sure everything's okay."_

_ Jenny agreed to that and was led away._

She still couldn't believe that this was happening. Her fiancé, the love of her life, was trapped inside a burning building. She didn't know whether he was alive or dead. She briefly thought of calling Alexis and Martha, but it wouldn't help anything. Part of Castle's Christmas gift to them was a trip to Europe, just for the two of them. He knew that Alexis hadn't had much time to spend with her grandmother lately and both missed each other, so to his daughter, it was a very special gift indeed. Calling them could do nothing when they wouldn't be able to reach New York in time.

All of a sudden, Beckett felt anger flood her veins. This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't how her life with Castle was supposed to end. They were supposed to get married, start a family, and grow old together. Their life together forever hadn't even started and yet it was about to end. It just wasn't fair. She needed to find a way to get Castle out of that building so that she could wrap herself around and never let him go. He was supposed to be her husband, damn it, and she was going to make sure it actually happened.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Castle had stopped hitting the pipes and yelling. He wasn't too much older than the detectives, but he also wasn't in as great of shape as they were. The smoke and heat didn't help either.

"Guys, stop!" he yelled. "It's no use. Even if they're here, they obviously can't hear us."

"Well, what are we supposed to do then, Castle?" Esposito asked. "Give up?"

"No, but we need to save our strength," he replied.

"For what?" Ryan sat down on a chunk of concrete and loosened his tie before yanking it off. "No one knows we're down here and it's only a matter of time before the fire sucks all the oxygen out of the room."

"There's gotta be some other way outta here or at least some other way to let them know we're down here," the writer said.

"Hate to break it to you, Castle, but unless you've got an oxygen tank, a pair of wings, and fire-proof suit…we're gonna cook," Esposito said grimly.

Ryan laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. "Castle's right, man. There has to be some way." He studied the room and spotted a partially intact telephone and a bunch of loose wires. "Hey, Castle. C'mere, I have an idea."

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Beckett was standing by her car, lost in thought. She'd just gotten off the phone with Gates who'd told her that every person in the homicide division was now working on this case. She could only hope that _someone_ would get a break through at the precinct. All she had was McCann's two folders and so far they were telling her nothing. She'd been over them again and again ever since Jenny had been placed in the ambulance, but she couldn't find anything.

Her phone ringing brought her back to reality. She didn't bother looking at the caller ID, but instead answered with her usual "Beckett."

At first she was confused. No one replied and all she heard was static.

"Hello?" she asked impatiently.

The static continued, but gradually cleared until she could hear a voice saying, "Beckett? Beckett, can you hear me? Beckett? Kate?"

Her jaw dropped slightly and her eyes widened. "Castle? Castle, is that you?"

**Thank you for reading this chapter and there will be one more after this. Feel free to review, favorite, or follow if you wish to. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the plots, lines, or characters.**

**A/N: Here's the last chapter. Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed, favorited, or followed this. I honestly didn't expect you all to like this so much. Once again, due to Castle being stuck with Ryan and Esposito, some things in the plot and certain lines had to be changed to fit with this. Enjoy!**

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's me!" Castle replied, thankful that they were able to get through. "Listen, listen, Beckett. That building we went into—that wasn't his next target, it was his lair! He rigged it to blow and now we're trapped inside. The whole place is up in flames."

Beckett could barely breathe. She began to tear up at just hearing her fiancé's voice. "Yes, Castle, I know. I'm right outside. We've got the whole fire department working on it right now. We thought," she inhaled deeply. "I thought you guys were dead."

"Well, we will be soon if you don't get some help," she heard Esposito tell her. God, it felt amazing hearing their voices. It was proof that there was a chance that they would be okay.

The detective quickly found the fire chief and explained the situation. "They're alive!" she informed him. "My guys are alive. I've got them on the phone right now. We need to hurry and get them out."

Hearing this, the man snapped into action, calling over someone and grabbing rolled up sheets of paper from the back of a van. He laid it out flat on the hood of a car as the other person held out a flashlight for him to see and Beckett, who'd put her cell phone on speaker so that everyone could hear what was being said.

"Exactly where in the building are you?" Chief Miller asked into the phone Beckett was holding out to him.

"Some kind of sub-basement mechanical room about 20 feet down from the main floor," Esposito responded. "No windows, no doors."

Chief Miller flipped through the building plans that he'd laid out, a frown descending upon his face. "Well, this doesn't make any sense."

"What?" Kate asked.

"According to these plans, this building has a slab foundation. There is no basement area," the man told her.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you, pal, but we're in some kind of basement. There's something wrong with your friggin' plans," Esposito said angrily.

Thinking rapidly while the trapped men shared their phone, each telling a portion of what they saw and what happened, Beckett said to the chief, "I need another phone."

The man next to Chief Miller pulled his out of his pocket and said, "Here, use mine."

The detective thanked the man, then dialed Captain Gates.

"They're alive?!" her captain exclaimed.

"Yeah, but they're in an unmapped portion of the building, Sir. A sub-basement," Beckett informed her boss. "We need to find them another way out of that room."

"What makes you think there _is_ another way out?" the older woman replied.

"The arsonist set the explosives to go off to get rid of all evidence if he was ever found, but what if someone discovered him while he was still in the building, Sir?"

"He'd need a way out," Gates realized.

"I think there's a reason that sub-basement isn't on the plans, Sir. I think the arsonist doctored those plans," she theorized.

Beckett could hear the gears spinning in the other woman's head as she inquired, "What makes you say that?"

"I heard Ryan say that when they discovered the workshop, there was an air shaft that ran all the way down to the sub-basement."

"You think that's an escape route?"

Beckett spoke quickly. "Sir, if cops were to raid this place and they were covering both the front and the back of the building, where would he go?"

The younger woman could practically see the realization dawn upon her boss's face. "To the one room that isn't on their plans."

"Then he blows the place and everyone thinks he's been killed."

The happiness and relief at finally having a breakthrough was evident in the captain's voice. "What better way to cover his tracks than to disappear in a fire."

"But it only works, Sir, if there's another way outta that room."

"And the only one to know that would be our arsonist."

"Sir," Beckett concluded, "we need to find him." She vaguely heard another voice on the other end of the phone. It sounded like Tori.

"Detective, we might've just found something," Gates said. "I have to go. Make sure you keep me in the loop about whatever is happening."

"I will, Sir," Beckett promised. And with that, she disconnected the phone call. "Chief, we need to get those original building plans."

"I'm already on it, Detective," he responded before disappearing.

Handing the phone back to its owner, she heard Castle's voice come through on her own cell phone. "Wow, Beckett. I didn't realize how much I've rubbed off on you from all those years we spent together. Excellent story."

Beckett rolled her eyes at her fiancé's smug tone. "Yet the difference being, _my_ stories always end up being practical and logical whereas yours are always crazy and not possible." He laughed.

"Any idea where that other way out might be?" he asked.

"The fire chief has someone on the phone with the building department right now. They're trying to get a hold of the original blueprints," she said.

"We're all getting sleepy, Beckett. The carbon monoxide's building up," Castle told her.

"No, listen to me, Castle, they're comin' for you. So you just need to hang in there."

"You're always telling me to be realistic, but now it's my turn to say that to you. We both know what's inevitable. The fire's too hot, they don't know where to look…we're not gonna make it out, Beckett," the writer said solemnly.

"No, Castle—"

"Kate. Stop," he demanded softly. "I don't know when we're gonna lose the phone so just, please…listen to me."

Her eyes began to water, this time from sorrow, not the smoke. She took a deep breath and did just what he pleaded: she listened.

His voice was soft, soothing even. "You know, the past few years that we've been together—as friends, partners, lovers—have been some of the happiest years of my life. When we first started working together, I always thought that it would be _you_ who would most benefit from our partnership. I thought that I could bring joy and humor and fun into your world and it was so much fun driving you crazy. Turns out, that it was _me_ who needed you the most. You brought a light into my life that I didn't know I was missing. You were the last piece of the puzzle that I was missing and I can honestly say that I have no regrets about anything we've done."

Tears were now freely falling down Beckett's cheeks. He was saying his final goodbye, but she didn't want to believe it. She couldn't or she would break down.

"Rick," she began, "you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. You helped to pull me out of my mother's case and make me start living again. I was broken when you met me and you were somehow able to put me back together. You fixed me and Castle, you _have_ to make it out of there. I-I don't know what I'll do without you," she admitted.

"You'll be fine," he said. "Because I know you, Kate. You're so strong and you'll go on and live your life."

"Castle, I don't—"

"Promise me," he insisted. "Promise that you won't let yourself be consumed. Promise me you'll look after Mother and Alexis. _Promise me_ you won't stop living."

She hesitated, but said, "I promise."

"Good." There was a pause and then he said, "Kate, is Jenny there?"

"Yeah."

"Can you bring the phone to her?"

"Castle, she's in labor."

The detective heard the sharp intake of breath from him. "What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Castle. She's in labor in an ambulance right now. Lanie's with her." Beckett could hear her fiancé talk to someone—probably Ryan.

"Ryan wants to talk to Jenny," Castle said quietly.

Beckett walked over to the ambulance that held Jenny and Lanie. The blonde woman was panting while the medical examiner held her hand.

"Castle, I'm with her right now." When she said this, both women's heads snapped to her, curiosity and hope written across their faces.

Beckett could almost see Castle smiling. "That's great, Beckett." He paused. "I, uh, I love you, Kate. So much."

"I love you too, Rick. Always."

"Always," he agreed.

Beckett passed the phone to Jenny. "There's someone who wants to talk to you, Jenny."

The other woman grasped the phone and said hopefully, "Kevin?"

Beckett didn't really want to listen in on what should be an emotional and private moment for the couple. She turned away, but felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking back, she saw that Lanie had stretched her arms out so that she could still hold tight to Jenny's hand, but could also place her other hand on her best friend's shoulder. Not knowing what else to do, Beckett changed her mind and climbed into the back of the ambulance next to Lanie. The two women wrapped an arm around one another while the detective reached her hand out to place it over the other two women's clasped hands. All three had their significant other in the burning building. Right now, like their men, they were all they had for comfort and support.

"Kevin? Kevin?!" Jenny frantically repeated into the phone. It was too late, though. The phone connection must've dropped just as the married couple finished their conversation. Jenny sadly handed the phone back to Beckett just in time for another contraction to hit.

The three women were all lost for words. Tears were running down their faces. Their loved ones were about to die in a burning building and there was nothing they could do about it.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

" 'Javier'? You're gonna name a white, Irish kid 'Javier'?" Esposito snarked as he sat up against a wall.

Ryan laughed as he tried to wipe the tears off his cheeks. "You're really gonna bust on me _now_ for being sentimental?"

The Latino shrugged slightly. "Figured it's my last chance to do it."

The three men all chuckled dryly as the fought to stay conscious. Castle surveyed his two companions. Ryan was looking at the ground, regret and sorrow written on his face. He was covered head to toe in soot and smoke that made him look almost darker than Esposito. Said man was currently fighting off sleep as his eyes drooped constantly. He was bleeding from his head and most of his clothes were torn. Castle glanced down at himself and could only imagine that he didn't look much better than them. He himself was resting up against the wall, right in between the two detectives. Breathable air was becoming a luxury that they were swiftly losing. It would only be a matter of time before they all fainted and would probably never wake up again.

The writer saw Ryan get to his feet with resolve and say, "No, there has to be a way out. I'm-I'm not gonna leave Jenny like this. I won't leave my baby without a daddy. Okay?"

The Irish man turned as he addressed them and saw that Esposito had already passed out. He rushed over to him and tried to shake him awake.

"No, c'mon! Javi! Javi, wake up!" he shouted over and over again with no success. Castle would've helped him, but the carbon monoxide was finally winning. Within moments, the larger man gave in and passed out, leaving Ryan the only one still conscious.

Ryan looked between his two friends, the panic and grief coming on swift wings. They weren't gonna make it. They were going to die in here and there was nothing they could do about. Laying down on the floor, the detective stared up at the blazing fire, watching it dance across the building. He could feel the sleep ready to take him so he just stopped. He stopped fighting it. He gave in and let it consume him. All he could hope was that the three of them would die of carbon monoxide poisoning before the flames reached them.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

"Oh God," Beckett commented as she came to the realization. She looked at Lieutenant Burton. "He's here. Mark Kimball's here."

"Then we need to find him," the fire investigator stated. The pair scanned the area, but neither could see him.

"Where could he be?" the lieutenant asked aloud.

"Let's think about this," Beckett told her. "He's an arsonist, a pyromaniac and a pyrophiliac and he's currently at a fire caused by an explosion of his workshop. What would he be doing right now?"

Burton thought for a moment before saying, "He'd probably be somewhere documenting this or videotaping it."

"Of course," Kate said. "He always records his own fires so he's gotta be somewhere that'll provide him enough cover so that he can videotape without anyone seeing him, but the spot has be able to provide him with enough quality footage of the building too."

"Over there," the fire investigator pointed. There was a hidden spot that a fire truck and an FDNY van created.

Beckett upholstered her gun and quickly walked over to the truck, peering around the back. And there he was. That sick son of a bitch was recording the fire on his phone, a stupid grin on his face. Rage coursed through the detective as she took advantage of his attention being on the roof of the building. She snuck around and approached him from the front, his phone panning down just in time to catch her point her gun at him.

Switching the safety off, she ordered, "Kimball, don't move!"

He attempted to run, but Lieutenant Burton blocked his way, her gun aimed right at his head.

"The basement, is there a way out?" Beckett asked as she walked towards him. When he didn't respond she reiterated, "_Is there_ a way out? _Is there?_"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he idiotically replied.

Fed up with his bullshit, Beckett grabbed the front of his shirt and threw him against his own car that was parked right behind him. "_Is there a way out?_" She clutched the back of his jacket and spun him around so that he was facing her, his back leaning against the hood of the car. Her hand came up wrap around his neck and jaw, forcing him to look at her.

"Those guys in there? Two of them are my friends and one is my fiancé. Now, if they die, _you_ die. What's it gonna be?" she asked him, the barrel of her gun inches from his head.

The man seemed to think about his choices before saying, "Fine, I'll tell you."

Beckett smiled with a fake sweetness. "Good answer." She yanked him up and cuffed him. "Walk," she ordered. He did as instructed while the detective led him over to Chief Miller.

"Chief," she called in order to get his attention. "There's another way in." She shook her prisoner and said, "Speak."

Kimball reluctantly told the fire chief where he would be able to send in his men in order to retrieve those trapped inside. Without hesitation, Chief Miller barked out orders to a rescue squad. The squad immediately got to work and disappeared inside the building.

Beckett led the arsonist to a police squad car. Shoving his back up against the side of it, she told him, "You know, I ought to kill you for all the pain and trouble you've put me and my friends in tonight. I want so badly to toss you into that fire right now. Make you feel what my fiancé and my friends could've felt." While her eyes promised him a slow and painful death, her head was telling her to not do it. Begrudgingly she followed her head. On second thought, though…

Pulling back her arm, Beckett launched her fist forward. She heard a sickly crunch, and felt satisfied that she'd broken his nose. With blood pouring out of his nose and onto the expensive shirt and tie he was wearing, she tossed him in the back of the squad car and left instructions for the officer whose vehicle she'd thrown Kimball in.

Walking away from the car, she flexed her right hand and gasped at the pain she felt. She must've sprained a finger or something. Rushing over to a nearby ambulance—one that _didn't_ have Jenny, who was in the middle of delivery, in it—she had an EMT wrap two of her fingers in black tape. Thanking the man, she strode over to where the other firefighters and emergency personnel were waiting for the rescue team. Her finger hurt like hell, but she knew that it was so worth it. Hell, Castle will be proud of her for doing something like that.

_ Castle._ Her thoughts returned to him and she silently prayed that her three boys would come walking out of the hazy smoke and everything would be alright.

"Rescue 7, do you have them?" Chief Miller asked into his radio. Static was all he got back. "Rescue 7, do you have them?" he repeated.

Beckett nervously shifted her weight from foot to foot and craned her head to see. Her eyes squinted, trying to make out any movement within the smoke.

"Rescue 7, are they alive?"

Suddenly shapes started to move and Beckett instantly knew that it was her boys.

She inhaled sharply as the three of them walked out of the haze, all assisted by a firefighter.

"Castle!" she shouted, breaking into a run at the sight of him.

"Kate!" he shrugged off the arm that was aiding him and hurried toward his beautiful fiancée. When she reached him, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him as close as possible to her. He in turn wrapped his arms around her back and lifted her off the ground, their faces buried in each other's neck.

He could tell she was crying by the shaking of her body and the wetness he felt on his skin. He didn't care. He was crying too and he wasn't ashamed of it.

She pulled her face back and closed the distance between her lips and his. He tasted like soot, ash, and dirt, but it didn't matter. All she cared about was the fact that he was here in her arms alive.

Remembering that there were two others she needed to greet, she released Castle and tugged Espo and Ryan to her. Both held her tightly and she finally let go of the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Her brothers were alive and they were alright.

Ryan pulled back first and said one simple word. "Jenny?"

Beckett smiled and said, "Come on, I'll take you to her." She wrapped an arm around his back as he draped one across her shoulders so that she could help him over to the ambulance.

When the rounded to the open back doors of the vehicle, Ryan released her and simply stared at his wife who was currently holding a small bundle in her arms. Esposito and Castle must have come up behind them because Lanie, who had been sitting next to Jenny, suddenly exclaimed, "Javi!" and rushed to hug him.

When she vacated her spot, Ryan leaped to take it. He immediately planted a kiss on his wife's lips, taking care not to disturb what she was holding.

Beckett wrapped her arms around Castle's waist and rested her head on his chest. She closed her eyes in peace and contentment, the smile she'd been wearing since they'd walked out of the building never once faltering.

"You're both beautiful," she heard Ryan say to Jenny and his new baby.

"Kevin," Jenny began with tears in her eyes, "I'd like you to meet…Sarah Grace."

Beckett could see the sheer awe and wonder on her friend's face. He gently touched his new daughter's head, careful not to get dirt on her.

Castle took away one of his arms so that he could place it behind Espo's back. The amount of love that was in the air just then absolutely amazing Beckett. Jenny and Ryan now had a family together and she could only assume that Espo and Lanie would begin to work at things again.

She stared at the Ryan family and was filled with hope and longing. One day that would be her and Castle. Nothing would be able to break their family apart. _One day,_ she vowed. Looking up at her fiancé, she was surprised to see him gazing lovingly down at her. Bringing a hand up to his cheek, she brought his mouth down to hers and sealed her promise with a kiss.

The firestorm they were in was over and in its terrible wake, it left nothing but love.

**This concludes our fiery journey together. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thank you so much!**


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